Manufacture of stitchdown shoes



July 13, 1937. B E HWARZ 2,086,743

MANUFACTURE OF STITCHDOWN SHOES Filed May 4, 1955 'senting the last and the shoe the upper to the .toe

Patented July 13,1937

P'EENT OFFICE MANUFACTURE OF STITCHDOWN SHOES Bruno E. Schwarz, Buenos Aires, Argentina, as-

signor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,

Paterson, N. J

a corporation of New Jersey Application May 4, 1935, Serial No. 19,854

In Spain June 4,

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of stitchdown shoes and has for its object to eifect substantial savings in the cost of manufacturing such shoes while still providing a satisfactory and merchantable product.

With the above object in View the invention, in one of its aspects, consists in positioning an upper on a last, fastening a toe piece to the toe portion of the last bottom with its margin extending beyond the edge of the last bottom, preparts thereon to a stitchdown staple lasting'machine provided with means for preventing delivery of staples at the will of the operatonstaple-lasting the toe end of piece, then interrupting the delivery of staples, and continuing the operation of the machine about the remainder of the upper margin thereby to form an outturned flange in the upper adjacent to the last bottom. Relatively few staples are required to last the upper to the, toe piece as compared with the number of staples which would be required to last the upper to an extension sole throughout its entire periphery in the usual manner. Thus it will be 5 seen that a considerable saving is efiected in the cost of lasting fastenings per pair of shoes. There is also, of course, a substantial saving in the cost of sole material by the substitution of a toe piece for the usual sole member to which the outturned margin of the upper is commonly lasted.

The various aspects of the invention will appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The drawing is a perspective view of a stitchdown upper in lasted position on its last, an outsole being secured to the heel end of the shoe and turned down at the toe end to disclose the toe piece to which the outturnedmargin of the toe end of the upper is secured in lasted relation.

In the drawing, a last 2 has positioned thereon an upper 4 which is temporarily fastened to the last by an assembling tack 6 and a series of tacks 8 extending about the upper margin of the top of the forepart, said tacks serving to position the forepart of the upper in proper relation to the last after the pulling over operation.

In order to hold the toe portion of the upper in lasted position there is provided a sole member or toe piece [0 having a margin [2 extending beyond the edge M of the last bottom, the outturned margins 16 and 18 of the upper and lining, .respectively, being lasted against the margin l2 of the toe piece and secured in lasted position by staples 28 extending downwardly through the margins l6 and N3 of the upper and lining and through the margin l2 of the toe piece It against the under surface of which the staples are clenched in order to secure the upper and lining thereto in lasted position. The concave rear margin 2| of the toe piece is beveled in order to prevent the occurrence of a ridge or shoulder across the interior of the forepart of the shoe bottom. An extension sole, herein illustrated as an outsole 22, is secured to and in contact with the outturned margin of the heel end of the upper parts by a staple 24 extending upwardly through the center of the marginal portion of the heel end of the outsole and through the overlying portions of the upper materials and by staples 26 extending upwardly through the margin of the outsole and the overlying margins of the upper materials at opposite sides of the shoe in the region of the forward extremity of its heel portion.

In the manufacture of stitchdown shoes in accordance with the present invention the upper 4 is assembled on the heel end of the last and the upper is then pulled over the forepart of the last, for example, in a machine such as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,176,- 022, granted March 21, 1916 on an application of Arthur Bates. After the upper has been pulled over and while it is held in pulled over condition by the grippers of the pulling over machine tacks 8 are driven through the rearward margin of the top of the forepart' of the upper 4 and into the last in order to hold the forepart of the upper in proper relation to the last. The sole member or toe piece I!) is then tacked to the toe end of the last bottom with its margin l2 extending beyond the edge It of the last bottom. The shoe is then presented to a stitchdown staple lasting machine such, for example, as-the machine disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,291,755, granted January 21, 1919, on an application of Matthias Brock, modified, if desired, as shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,836,229, granted December 15, 1931, on an application filed in the names of R. E. Duplessis and A. A. Macleod. The toe end of the upper 4 is lasted to the margin l2 of the toe piece l0 and simultaneously secured thereto by staples 2U driven by the lasting machine. .The lasting operation is continued about the sides and the heel end of the shoe in order to shape the upper to the last and to form an outturned flange therein but no lasting staples are driven through the outturned margin of the upper parts rearwardly of the toe piece. After the lasting operation has been completed the operator pulls the tacks whereby the toe piece was temporarily fastened to the last bottom and the outsole 22 is stapled to the heel end of the outturned margin of the upper parts. The toe end of the outsole is then pressed against the toe piece, suitable adhesive having been applied to said parts in order to prevent any separation thereof as the shoe is worn. The shoe is then presented to any suitable sewing machine and the outsole is stitched to the shoe bottom.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in the manufacture of stitchdown shoes which consists in positioning an upper on a last, fastening a toe piece to the toe portion of the last bottom with its margin ex tending beyond the edge of the last bottom, presenting the last and the shoe parts thereon to a stitchdown staple lasting machine provided with means for preventing delivery of staples at the will of the operator, staple-lasting the toe end of the upper to the toe piece, then interrupting the delivery of staples, and continuing the operation of the machine about the remainder of the upper margin thereby to form an outturned flange in the upper adjacent to the last bottom.

2. That improvement in the manufacture of stitchdown shoes which consists in positioning an upper on a last, fastening a toe piece to the toe portion of the last bottom with its margin extending beyond the edge of the last bottom, presenting the last and the shoe parts thereon to a stitchdown staple lasting machine provided with means for preventing delivery of staples at the will of the operator, staple-lasting the toe end of the upper to the toe piece, then interrupting the delivery of staples, continuing the operation of the machine about the remainder of the upper margin thereby to form an outturned margin in the upper adjacent to the last bottom, at taching the heel portion of a Whole sole to the heel portion of the outurned margin of the upper, and thereafter stitching the sole to the outturned margin of the upper throughout its entire extent.

3. That improvement in the manufacture of stitchdown shoes which consists in positioning an upper on a last, fastening a toe piece to the toe portion of the last bottom with its margin extending beyond the edge of the last bottom, presenting the last and the shoe parts thereon to a stitchdown staple lasting machine provided with means for preventing delivery of staples at the will of the operator, staple-lasting the toe end of the upper to the toe piece, then interrupting the delivery of staples, continuing the operation of the machine about the remainder of the upper margin thereby to form an outturned margin in the upper adjacent to the last bottom, attaching the heel portion of a Whole sole to the heel portion of the outturned margin of the upper, cementing the toe portion of the sole to the toe piece, and thereafter stitching the sole to the outturned margin of the upper throughout its entire extent.

4. That improvement in the manufacture of stitchdown shoes which consists in positioning an upper on a last, stretching the forepart of the upper over the last, then fastening a toe piece to the toe portion of the last bottom with its margin extending beyond the edge of the last bottom, presenting the last and the shoe parts thereon to a stitchdown staple lasting machine provided with means for arresting delivery of staples at the will of the operator, staple-lasting the toe portion of the upper to the toe piece, then arr sting the delivery of staples and continuing the operation of the machine about the remainder of the upper margin while the delivery of staples remains interrupted, thereby to shape the margin of the upper to extend outwardly from the last substantially in the plane of the last bottom.

BRUNO E. SCHWARZ. 

